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Let me say it again. Barack Obama is not a “young man” he is 47 (on August 4th) years old. That’s almost 50. He is a man. He needs no qualifier.

I am so tired of people talking about Senator Obama as if he were a young man in his 20s. He is a United States Senator. Let me repeat that. He is a United States Senator .

He is not some sort of “celebrity” who did “nothing” to get where he is. He was born to a mother who at one point was on food stamps to feed her children. Yes, he went to a prestigious school, but he went on SCHOLARSHIP not because he had the money and could afford for mommy and daddy to pay the tuition. He went to college on scholarships and loans. He went to law school on scholarships and loans. He JUST paid off his student loans a couple of years ago thanks to the success of his books. He was a community organizer in Chicago, in fact he moved there not knowing anyone because he felt it was his place to do something to help people. Even when he graduated near the top of his class at Harvard Law School, he chose to return to his community organizing job instead of taking some fancy job on Wall Street. He ran for office because we wanted to do more to help more people. He was unsuccessful in one election when he ran for U.S. Congress, so he does know the bitter taste of defeat.

He is by no means perfect, but to reduce him to a celebrity, and then say “he’s a good young man” is insulting and belittling. The man is a United States Senator, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for President. He may be our next president. He is not a “young man” he is not “inexperienced” he is not “uninformed” he DOES “understand” the issues and what needs to be done to put the United States back on course.

He is not “arrogant” or “presumptuous” or “cocky” or “uppity.” He is confident. Maybe he has an ego, but anyone who thinks they can and should be the President of the United States has an ego.

So stop calling him “young” because while just about anyone or anything is younger than John McCain, Barack Obama is not a “young man.”

Muz......Having watched all that has gone on and realized how our friends in Washington (those of majority rule) havent taken care of things since 2004, I realize that those who were supposed to, didnt. Dodd, Frank, Pelosi, Reid, et al....And Obama is in this same crowd. I wouldnt call those people progressive by any means. They even voted down campaign finance reform, Fannie Mae monitoring and reorganizations, sponsored by...........McCain. Sorry Dude. Fact is fact. No backpedaling here. Others are also responsible, ut why do you want to hand more power to the queen of the House of Reps? BE CAREFUL.

Excellent post. And too true. Obama has worked damned hard. He came from humble beginnings, unlike so many of his predecessors who came from backgrounds that almost guaranteed their futures among the political elite. I am so thankful for Obama. His intelligence is beyond question, and these days, beyond equal in Washington. He is compassionate, thinking and does nothing without first seeing the issue/problem from all angles. He is going to be a great president, and he is going to do great things for our country.

PS - I read your diaries all the time over at Kos. I've got to figure out how to embed pix and vids.